question on police work

Kdaw. Moving you off to Story Research and Experts, where you'll get great feedback.

I have very limited knowledge of police procedures but... a young lad was murdered outside our close about 5 years ago. We were in the process of moving out so weren't actually there that night but the police went round door to door to all the flats to take statements. When they got to us, we just told them we weren't in the previous night and that was it.

However, my sister was arrested once due to someone giving the police her details when they were busted selling drugs. Fortunately we managed to prove my sister is not that type, had been home all of the night in question and was 20 miles away from where this offence took place. That did not stop the police arresting her at home, taking her out in cuffs, putting her in the back of the car, strip searching her when she arrived at the station and then throwing her in a cell for 5 hours. The police then admitted that not even the description of my sister matched this suspect...

Generally speaking... First the police canvass the neighborhood in search of witnesses. If found, initial statements are taken on that scene (witness' location). There may be subsequent interviews scheduled at the same location or in a more controlled environment (station) if circumstances warrant - it'll all depend on the case investigator's strategy.

If you're crafting a murder mystery, all of your characters with opportunity and motive are potential suspects - just like in real life.

Kdaw said:

I'm kind of dumb on this, so this might be stupid questions.

Would police conduct all types of questionings at the station?
I imagine they would start of talking to neighbors of the crime scene to inquire if they've seen anything unusual, would they then bring them in for that?

When they talk to siblings of the murder before they are considered suspects, on tv they often do this in the homes of the ones that's questioned, does that happen.

The story is set in a very small town some hours drive away from the county sheriffs office, will they bring everyone in for questioning to the police station or will they set up a "temporary" station in the town in some kind of public building.

Click to expand...

I'm currently a police officer. Retired from a larger dept and am working at a much smaller (and quieter one). I have been a detective and worked homicides both as a detective and a patrolman. Here's what my experience has been:

Any witnesses would be isolated so they don't talk with each other and thereby taint each other's version of what they saw/heard.

Most major crimes entail a canvas. Anyone who demonstrates knowledge of some facet of what occurred gets treated as a witness.

Part of a homicide investigation is the victomology. A study of the victim to determine how they came to what happened and the links and threads that may connect the people in their life. So yes, family members, close friends, and work associates all fit there.

It is not desirable to do in depth interviews in the witnesses homes for several reasons... one being interruption, one being its hard to guarantee that you control the interview (when it starts and stops), and some psychological reasons.

I don't see why you couldn't conjure up a vacant office building and use it for a temporary police station near the incident. Especially if the department facilities (that are far away) are too small anyway.

Hope this helps